AZ State Parks & AZ Budget Proposal

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State Budget Proposal May Eliminate State Parks

The holidays are here and you are focusing on friends and family but we encourage you to remember the importance of Arizona State Parks to our economies, communities, and environment.

The legislature went into Special Session today to consider budget cuts and may vote on them at any time. The cuts proposed in House Bill 2001 of the 5th Special Session, are catastrophic to Arizona State Parks and will eliminate the agency’s ability to operate.

The proposal unveiled this morning impacts Arizona State Parks with Fund Reductions and Transfers totaling $3,151,100, coupled with Fund sweeps of $6,088,700

The proposed cuts would force significant (a minimum of 75) reductions in staff, thereby forcing a closure of much of the park system this fiscal year. Without the revenues that the open parks generate, the agency will be forced to dispose of much of the property that it currently manages.

This proposal was presented this morning and is not yet enacted but could be voted on at any time.

It's important to note: HB2001 seeks $205 million in cuts to begin to address a deficit currently estimated at $1.5 billion. The proposed cuts to State Parks would equate to almost 5% of their solution, while State Parks currently receives less than 1/10 of 1% of the overall state budget. Additionally, State Parks receives NO money from the state General Fund, but the impact of the park system on the state economy is more than $266 million.